Tips and rumours

Political robocalls and scammers ... Drink to the arts -- and the ALP ... A piece of pie for Rupert's 83rd ... Greens supporting our wildlife ...

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From the Crikey grapevine, the latest tips and rumours …

Drink to the arts — and the ALP. This is nice. Victorian Labor MP Martin Foley is inviting Melbourne arty types to drinks with Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews. It’s an opportunity, he says, to “network with your arts and creative industry colleagues and to hear Victorian Labor’s plans for the sector”. Max Gillies will be there to send-up Tories; Tom Ballard will be telling jokes. Sounds like fun …

Except it’ll cost you — $200 a head. Sounded more like a Labor Party fundraiser to us — which Foley confirmed this morning. “That’s what we’re pitching it as,” he told Crikey, dismissing the notion that there was anything suss in asking an industry to pay to hear party policy. What do you reckon?

Political robocalls and scammers. From a Crikey correspondent in Adelaide:

“Two nights running, we have had the usual “there’s something wrong with your Windows” scam call followed within five minutes by a robocall from the South Australian Liberals.”

A coincidence, asks our reader? Or is the Liberal Party using the same Indian call centre as the scammers?

A piece of pie for Rupert’s 83rd. A birthday shoutout to everyone’s favourite octogenarian mogul, Rupert Murdoch, who turned 83 yesterday. As his ever-loyal chief of staff documents, it was apple pie all round to celebrate …

Greens supporting our wildlife.Only a few days left until South Australia’s election, and long-serving legislative council member Mark Parnell, of the Greens, is up for re-election. He posted this on his Facebook page with the tagline “If only koalas could vote …”: